Take it or leave it! Can we prevent youngsters from early and substantial...

Take it or leave it! Can we prevent youngsters from early and substantial alcohol, tobacco or marijuana use?

Period

06 / 2008 - 06 / 2012

Status

Current

Dissertation

Yes

Research number

OND1344669

Data Supplier

Website BSI

Abstract

The Healthy School and Drugs (HSD) project is a widely implemented, universal school-based prevention program in the Netherlands. HSD targets youngsters in primary and secondary schools and aims to reduce and limit alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use among adolescents. This four-wave longitudinal project will examine the effectiveness of the HSD intervention as it is implemented now (i.e., using electronic learning modules) in a randomized clustered trial. The primary goal is to test whether the HSD program is effective. What the actual active components of the HSD are is the second goal of the project. Thus, are behavioral changes mainly due to the integral working method of the HSD or do youngsters benefit more from one specific component, namely the electronic learning modules. The final goal is to investigate how possible behavioral changes come about. Are increased knowledge, better refusal skills, or changed attitudes towards substance (ab)use (partly) responsible for explaining the effect? A conclusive answer on these questions will be formulated based on the final analyses.